David Frownfelder: Attitudes, not tools, need adjustment

Monday

Dec 24, 2012 at 8:00 AM

By David FrownfelderDaily Telegram staff writer

Anger and paranoia are becoming the most prevalent emotions in America these days.

Is any place in this country safe anymore? In recent years, we have seen a college campus, a movie theater, a mosque, several shopping malls and now an elementary school shot up with multiple deaths and injuries. Even church is no longer a sanctuary, as people with anger or mental health issues have asserted what they feel is their right to avenge themselves due to some perceived slight or injustice.

Some people and groups have used the shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., to point out the need for the euphemistic cliche of gun control. Others have said more guns would have prevented the tragedy.

The solution isn’t more guns or fewer guns. It is defusing the anger and entitlement people feel — especially if someone feels “disrespected.”

We are surrounded by violence every day, especially in our choices for entertainment and diversion. For instance, some of the most popular video games are won by the player who has racked up the highest body count in a mind-numbing series of assaults with a variety of weapons, including many of the everyday variety such as motor vehicles and various household utensils.

Our news programs focus on blood and mayhem; many of the television series we watch and the movies we see are rooted in violence, murder and bloodletting. As a result, people are becoming almost immune to the horror and the actual agony of the victims.

Mouthing the “take away the guns,” or the “armed society is a polite society” generalizations is too simplistic and unreasonable. Neither position actually addresses the real problem: too many angry people.

It is time for meaningful action on the root causes of these multiple murders. Unfortunately, there is no simple, one-size-fits-all solution.

What we are dealing with is anger and our society’s love of guns and violence. Get rid of the anger and the feelings of entitlement, along with the underlying want to assert a measure of control to a situation — even if it is self-delusional — and we can start to defuse future potential occurrences.

National Rifle Association apologists and those who simply want to disarm everyone need to find a middle ground, if only for the sake of humanity. Extremism is not a solution with which we can live much longer.

People who want to harm others will find a way to do so, using a gun or some other weapon. Taking away one tool will only delay the actions of the person feeling the need to assert himself or herself.

For those claiming God should be allowed in public schools, I can only say that someone’s faith is a personal belief. If you believe God is with you at all times, he is. If you believe otherwise, that is your choice.

My own opinion is, if God wants to be somewhere, he is. Anyone thinking a man-made rule can change that needs to take a long, hard look at his or her own beliefs.

The world owes its inhabitants nothing. We are the invasive species, and whatever we have is what we have either earned or taken.

As for being “disrespected,” I was taught that respect is something earned for deeds and actions, not demanded by the person who has the biggest weapon or who shouts the loudest. That is the difference between respect and fear.

David Frownfelder is a staff writer for The Daily Telegram. He can be contacted at 265-5111, ext. 258, or via email at frownfelder@lenconnect.com.